Syracuse and St. Johns Will Continue Rivalry

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Syracuse and St. Johns are headed to different athletic conferences, but they won’t stop playing each other.

The two schools’ men’s basketball squads will play a home-and-home series in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons the schools announced Wednesday. The first game will be on Dec. 15, 2013 at Madison Square Garden. The date for the game at the Carrier Dome has yet to be decided.

“The rivalry with St. John’s has been one of the strongest for our program,” said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. “We had some great games when I was in school and the series continued to grow with Coach (Lou) Carnesecca at St. John’s right up to today with Coach Lavin. Playing in Madison Square Garden is always a special event for Syracuse and for our fans in New York City. It will be great that our fans in Central New York will have the chance to see St. John’s in the Dome the following year.”

Syracuse is leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, while St. Johns is one of seven Big East non-football schools who will leave the conference and form their own league.

The two schools were original founders of the Big East in 1979, and have played each other since 1912.